3 new COVID-19 deaths, 57 cases reported in Beaufort County on Tuesday
Three COVID-19 deaths were announced in Beaufort County on Tuesday.
The people were described as elderly, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. They died on either Friday or Saturday.
State health officials also reported 57 new COVID-19 cases in Beaufort County on Tuesday.
Jasper County, meanwhile, reported 13 new coronavirus infections Tuesday and no new deaths.
The area recorded a surge of cases throughout December and the beginning of January, mirroring other spots around South Carolina and the rest of the country.
Last week, 1,543 Beaufort County School District students and between 78 and 126 staff across 31 schools — all but one in the district — were quarantining, according to the district’s updated COVID-19 monitoring dashboard.
The district will update its quarantine data every Monday to include the number of students and staff at each school that were actively quarantining the previous week.
The new dashboard is missing some key points that the district previously released, including the total number of COVID-19 infections at each school and across the district. It’s also replacing definite numbers for small-scale quarantines and new case reporting (i.e. three cases being reported at a school in the last week) with “<5.”
More than 700 staff and students have contracted COVID-19 since Sept. 28, according to the dashboard and previous reporting by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
The local outbreak has recently been at its worst point since last March. Hundreds of cases were recorded earlier this month, shattering the previous single-day record on Jan. 8. Deaths are still quickly mounting, in comparison to last fall. And the county’s seven-day average of new cases was 107.7 as of Tuesday.
Vaccines are also slowly being distributed to local health care workers, seniors and residents and staff at long-term care facilities.
Vaccine data
Beaufort Memorial Hospital as of Monday had utilized 74% of 4,850 first Pfizer-BioNTech doses received. The hospital has used 36% of 2,075 second doses.
Hilton Head Hospital had utilized 132% of 1,525 first doses and used 119% of 305 second doses as of Monday. That’s because some Pfizer vials have contained six or even seven doses, opposed to only five.
Coastal Carolina Hospital as of Monday had used 122% of 1,780 first doses. The hospital had utilized 85% of 185 second doses.
Local numbers
Viral test results reported Sunday (the most recent date for which data is available): 343
Average percentage of positive tests in the past week, as of Sunday: 19.2%
Total cases: 12,028 confirmed, according to DHEC
Total deaths: 134 confirmed, according to DHEC
Two-week cumulative incidence rate as of Sunday: 751.1 cases per 100,000 people, a “high” rate under DHEC’s definition. An incidence rate measures how quickly a disease is spreading through a given population.
Dr. Scott Curry, an infectious disease specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina, has previously said counties should aim to have a two-week incidence rate of less than 50 new cases per 100,000 people.
Statewide numbers
Percentage of positive non-antibody tests reported Sunday: 21.7%
New cases announced Tuesday: 1,993
Total cases: 381,812 confirmed
New deaths announced Tuesday: 24
Total deaths: 5,944 confirmed
Cases by ZIP code
Bluffton’s ZIP code of 29910 continues to lead the county with 3,461 cases in the past year. Beaufort’s 29902 ZIP code, meanwhile, has recorded 1,858 cases since March, the second-highest figure in the county.
Hilton Head Island’s 29928 ZIP code, covering the southeastern part of the island, has 889 cases. The 29926 ZIP code on the north side has 1,550 cases, according to DHEC data.
Okatie’s 29909 ZIP code, which includes Sun City Hilton Head, has reported 896 cases.
Coronavirus infections at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are included in the 29902 ZIP code.
More information on Beaufort County ZIP code data can be found at the following link. Click on it, then click on “Go to Cases,” then click on Beaufort County on the S.C. map: bit.ly/BeaufortCountyZIP
What are DHEC’s recommendations?
State health officials say residents should continue to practice social distancing and should wear a mask in public.
People who are active in the community or those who can’t effectively social distance or wear a mask should be tested for COVID-19 monthly, according to DHEC.
DHEC has been releasing its vaccine data in the late afternoons or early evenings.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow South Carolina’s coronavirus data is compiled
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control’s total COVID-19 case count includes anyone who has tested positive since the pandemic began. The data also include those who have recovered or died.
The state agency does not provide an overall, county-by-county number of cases versus the number of people who have recovered.
DHEC counts deaths based on where a patient lives rather than where they died.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 2:11 PM.
